This will help with some of the biggest economic challenges
we are facing on the horizon:

Creating jobs for Calgarians;

Keeping companies operating; and

Bringing money into our economy.

Simply put, this announcement from the Alberta Government is a great kick-start.

We can expect that significant additional work will be
undertaken, including $410 Million for transportation
projects. Compared to the 2019 Budget, this year’s (2020- 2021) will see an
increase of 21 per cent.

This is great, now what if we could do something similar to the Green Line funding?

Green Line is the
easiest decision we can make right now

A significant Provincial contribution can allow us to not
only continue moving forward with Green Line, which will generate an estimated 20,000 jobs and contribute to 65,000 riders on opening day, but allows
us to progress the scope of Phase 1 to include Prestwick and McKenzie Towne
Stations.

And extending the scope of the project to include one of the cheapest and most impactful components
of the Green Line (only costing around $200-$300 million) just makes sense.

Why is McKenzie Towne so important? A station here would be
perfectly situated in the heart of four communities: McKenzie Towne, Prestwick,
Copperfield, and New Brighton. This will provide better Transit opportunities to over 45,000 Calgarians. Having a
station in the middle of the population will also make Transit more accessible
for the communities of Mahogany and Auburn Bay (29,000 residents).

That’s 74,000
Calgarians that will have an easier time getting around the City; giving them
more options of where they can work, live and play.

For 10 years in a row, Calgary has ranked in the top five of The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Livability Index. Calgary plays a large role in Alberta’s economy. And as we know, the well-being of Alberta’s economy is vital to the Canadian Standard of living.

The number one priority of City Council is to keep
Calgarians safe and to best support our citizens. While protecting individual’s
health, we must also protect The City’s
sustainability and ability to go back to work. This includes long-term
investments that will kick-start the economy. The economic costs of a global
pandemic is difficult to quantify, and our success depends on how we enable our
businesses to continue operating once the dust settles. The Green Line is a
vital piece of Calgary’s transit network and is needed to unlock the true development potential of communities in
South Calgary.